Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland

Bees are a fascinating and indispensable group of insects, but sadly many species are in decline. Unfortunately efforts to help determine distributions and changes in abundance have to date been compromised by a serious lack of identification resources. The Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland helps to unravel  the complexities of identification. It is designed to cater for people new to the bee world as well as to more experienced recorders who wish to identify every species accurately.This field guide to bees provides the latest information on the identification, ecology, status and distribution of all 275 species of bee in Britain, Ireland and the Channel Islands. The author, Steven Falk, is a professional naturalist and conservationist with over forty years’ experience of working with bees. It is also Illustrated with over 1,000 colour and black & white artworks by Richard Lewington, one of Europe’s leading insect artists.Stunning photographs of living insects as seen in the wild234 up-to-date distribution mapsComprehensive introduction to bee classification, ecology, field techniques and recording, a full glossary, and information on how to separate the sexes and distinguish bees from other insectsIntroductions to families and genera, describing key characters and life historiesDetailed species descriptions covering field and microscopic characters, similar species, variants, flight season, habitat, flowers visited, nesting habits, status & distribution, and parasites & associatesA series of innovative illustrated keys to genera and species, designed to guide the user step by step through the identification process